Saturday, August 9, 2008

Twins surrender first place to Pirates

The games between these two teams have been hard fought all year and this one was really no different.

Jean Mijares took the start for the GCL Twins and held the Pirates off until the 3rd inning. Pirate Matt Capps, pitching on a major league rehab assignment, was not so lucky.

Aaron Hicks and Jakub Hajtmar both pounced on Capps for a back-to-backs singles to lead off the bottom of the first. A fielding error by Victor Sanchez on Hajtmar's line drive allowed the speedy Hicks to score and moved Hajtmar to second. He'd get no farther than 3rd however on Mike Gonzales ground out one out later as Henry Sanchez went down on strikes to end the inning.

Mijares would walk Jesus Aguilara in the top of the 3rd. Edwin Roman bunted, but the Twins chose to take Aguilera out at 2nd. A wild pitch by Mijares sent Roman to second however. After Adenson Chourio went down on strikes, Mijares issued a walk to Ben Gonzalez. Jarek Cunningham then singled to plate Roman and put Gonzalez on 3rd. Alex Vargas ground out however, keeping the score tied.

Michael Tonkin replaced Mijares in the top of the sixth and walked Cunningham. Vargas would ground into a force out, but Edward Garcia then singled to move him to 2nd. Victor Sanchez doubled in Vargas. After Tonkin plunked Andury Acevedo with a pitch, Aguilera singled to bring in Garcia.

Capps would only work one inning before giving way to Tyler Cox who as baffled the Twins most of the season. He'd work the next five, scattering a pair of hits and fanning 4. Emilis Guerrero took over for the seventh inning.

With one out on the board, Anderson Hidalgo singled, then moved to 2nd on a throwing error by Guerrero. A wild pitch got him to 3rd, and he'd score on Josmil Pinto's ground out. Juan Sanchez and Herbert Lara hit back-to-back singles getting Sanchez to 2nd, but Hicks ground out to send the Pirates to the plate again.

Nick Lobanov Worked the seventh and the eighth, giving way to Bruce Pugh in the ninth. Pugh would walk Aguilera and Roman. Chourio singled to load up the bags, and Pugh walked Gonzalez to force in a run. Cunningham would sacrifice in Roman to give the Pirates an extra two points before Vargas popped out and Garcia lined out to send the Twins up to bat again.

Pinto would triple off Jorge Charry but got no support from "Hank the Tank" and Hidalgo, with both going down on strikes. Juan Sanchez's strike out would then end the contest.

The Twins out hit the Pirates, 9-8, but it's not a home run derby so it's not the hits that count. Hidalgo and Pinto were both 2-for-4, with Hidalgo recording a run and Pinto double and a triple, plus a run scored. Juan was 1-for-3 as was Herbert Lara. Hicks, Hajtmar and Ortiz were all 1-for-4, Hicks with a run. Henry Sanchez fell one strike out short of the Golden Sombrero. Sorry kid, no prize for you this time.

The Twins play the GCL Orioles Saturday at the Lee County Sports center for a 10:00 AM game. They are on the road Sunday vs the GCL Reds.

The DSL Twins took a lead in the fourth, added to it in the sixth and held on for a win at home over the DSL Diamondbacks Friday morning.

Lesther Galvin walked in the bottom of the fourth, then one out later, stole 2nd. Jairo Perez would go down on strikes, but Jairo Rodriguez reached on a fielding error by Damil Taveras which also brought in Galvan for the first Twins run.

Danny Santana lead off the bottom of the sixth with a single. Galvan would ground out, advancing Santana to 2nd. Oswaldo Arcia took a walk. The Diamondbacks would make a pitching change then, bringing in Juan Roasrio to replace the outgoing Gustavo Martinez. Perez singled to plate Santana and Rodriguez's follow up grounder brought in Arcia. Perez would be taken out at home on the throw. However, Eliel Sierra would get plunked with a pitch, moving Rodriguez to 2nd, and a Felix Caro single to center got Rodriguez over the plate for the fourth Twins run.

Adrian Salcedo worked seven inning, scattering 4 hits and fanning 4. Jhonny Garcia took care of the last two, giving up 1 run in the ninth on 3 hits.

Santana was 3-for-4 at the plate with a run, while Perez was 2-for-4. Rodriguez and Caro were both 1-for-4, Rodriguez with a run and a run scored, Caro with a RBI.

Arcia was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run, and Galvan, who would finish up 0-or-3 at the plate, had a walk and a run.

The DSL Twins also play the Orioles, or at least, the DSL version of them, but they will do so on the road for a 10:30 AM Dominican time game.

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From Minnesota Game Day

Mostly Minors

The best-kept secret in the Twins blogosphere, Fort Myers native Dianna has been blogging about Twins minor-league affiliates since 2001, but has not received as much attention as she deserves. Unhappy with the level of exposure at her last host, Dianna moved her blog to Twins Territory. Other Twins blogs may touch on the minors, but Mostly Minors owns them. The focus doesn’t stop at just the top prospects, but covers all the farmhands, from top to bottom. On top of that, a rabid Fort Myers Miracle fan, Dianna has actually seen most of the players she writes about at one point in their professional careers. Few blogs can match Mostly Minors’ originality, and if you have any interest in the Twins farm system, make this blog part of your reading routine.

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